Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

Just as Tom was wondering how to ask, Hermione spoke up: "Do you know where Hagrid went? And who's after us?"

She grabbed Dobby's arm anxiously; Hermione was still worried about her friend Hagrid.

Seeing Dobby's evasive gaze, Hermione grew increasingly anxious: "Tell me!"

"Dobby can't say... but don't send letters to the school, the letters won't get through..."

Tom patted Hermione's little hand and pressed her palm down: "Relax, Dobby."

Tom's voice always had a sunny and gentle quality, so much so that whenever Dobby heard Tom speak, no matter how anxious he was, he would immediately calm down.

He looked at Tom calmly, watching Tom's smile.

"Yes, take a deep breath, calm down, relax—"

After doing more, the anxious look returned to normal.

"Hey, Dobby, all you have to do is nod or shake your head. Did you come to me because you heard what I told you?"

Tom had told Dobby that if Hermione was in danger, Dobby should notify him immediately.

Seeing Dobby nodding vigorously, Tom made a nasal "hmm".

"If I want to go back to school..." Tom hadn't finished speaking when Dobby shook his head vigorously.

Is that not allowed...?

"Dobby, tell me these things won't affect your relationship with your master, right? You know, house-elves must never betray their masters, and I'm worried it will drag you down."

Dobby was still shaking his head.

"Okay, I understand. One last question, Dobby, do you know where Mr. Hagrid is?"

“Mr. Hagrid is alright, he was just tricked, but, but he's still alright. Mr. Hagrid was going to send you an owl, and Dobby gave the letter to… Dobby…”

Seeing Dobby clutching his head and about to bang it on the table again, Tom quickly patted him on the back: "Little guy, calm down, calm down, I won't ask anymore. Thank you, you made up for the mistake you made before with your actions, I'm very happy."

"Did Dobby...help Tom?"

“Of course.” Tom returned a smile. “Alright, you don’t need to worry about us here. Go do whatever you want.”

Dobby glanced at them worriedly a few times, but forced by his status as a "house-elf," he had no choice but to give up and leave.

After Dobby left, Hermione grabbed Tom's arm and started asking him a barrage of questions.

“Hey, you need to calm down too!” Tom pressed Hermione’s head down, ruffling her hair slightly. “Dobby’s master is Lucius Malfoy.”

Upon hearing the surname, Hermione immediately realized: "It's that villain!"

You swear like you're being affectionate, baby...

Tom didn't complain, but forced a smile: "I guess someone contacted Hagrid. Maybe they talked about magical creatures. After considering it several times, Mr. Hagrid wrote to us to return to Hogwarts, and then Dobby intercepted the envelope."

Why did he do that?

“Because it would be dangerous for us if we went back to school.” Tom pulled Hermione to his side and held her hands tightly. “Listen to me, it’s not Lucius who wants to harm us this time, you know? We’ve encountered something far more dangerous.”

An even more dangerous existence?

Hermione rarely saw Tom so serious. She gripped Tom's hands tightly, then suddenly realized something.

Hermione's body trembled uncontrollably: "Could it be..."

The man's name was about to slip out when Tom quickly covered her mouth: "Don't say it, you can't say it, but please don't worry about it. He wouldn't dare to attack us in Hogsmeade now, there are many wizards here."

If he dares to make a move, all the wizards will attack him, understand?

Hermione, don't get hurt. Stay by my side. His target is you, not me. I'll be fine, and I don't want anything to happen to you either. We'll go to the ball together at Christmas dinner, and we can visit Misha together during the holidays.

Voldemort!

Without a doubt, it must be that guy.

Feeling the warmth from her palm, Hermione nodded: "What should we do?"

"First, you have to act cute with me."

Hermione: "???"

……

Half an hour later, Tom and Hermione won the right to use the cauldron and some potions by acting cute.

Ms. Rosmerta was a kind person; she not only gave them the right to use the equipment but also gave them some materials as a gift.

Of course, Tom only said that they wanted to practice potions while waiting for Hagrid.

"We only have two doses of medicine, so don't make a mistake." Tom was the main force, while Hermione assisted him from the side.

These medicinal herbs were certainly not enough for Tom; the potion he needed to concoct required something far more expensive.

The two of them didn't have any money on them, but it was fine.

As a prospective potion master, Tom only needs a little material—not too much, just enough to make one potion—and he can earn a lot of Galleons in an hour.

"What kind of potion is this?" Hermione didn't recall Professor Snape teaching them how to make this potion.

"Aphrodisiac."

"What on earth have you been concocting!" Hermione's face flushed crimson. She pointed at Tom, "You...you're so shameless!"

Tom rolled his eyes at her speechlessly: "Foolish, Hermione, let me ask you, is dark magic always evil?"

"Of course!"

"If someone uses dark magic to defeat the mysterious man, do you think dark magic is evil or benevolent?"

Seeing Hermione remain silent, Tom puffed out his chest smugly: "Got it? There's no right or wrong way to define tools; what matters is what the user uses them for!"

You still have a lot to learn. Now, could you please rub my hands together? I'm a little cold.

"Hmph—" Hermione knew she couldn't win an argument with Tom, so she angrily pulled open his collar and placed her cold little hand on his neck.

"Are you trying to die?!"

"Hit me then, if you dare, hit me."

"Don't bully children."

Tom ignored Hermione and continued concocting the aphrodisiac potion.

This little potion had absolutely no chance of failing for Tom.

With the added bonus of the title, the cauldron, which originally could only produce two potions, was given four potions to Tom!

“This is our seed money, we need to hurry.” Tom breathed out, rubbing his palms together to warm them. “Take your clothes off, Hermione.”

Chapter 46 The Half-Blood Prince Sold You? (3k-word long chapter, please read, vote, and recommend!)

"What are you saying! Shameless! Vulgar! Bastard! Disgusting! Pig! Why didn't Merlin call you..."

"I'm cold! Haven't you realized you're wearing my clothes?! Who gave you clothes as a blanket when you were sleeping? Pah!" Tom interrupted Hermione mercilessly.

"..."

Hermione hadn't noticed; no wonder she slept so comfortably.

"It stinks, who wants it? Here you go."

"Wait here, I'll be back." Tom hurriedly left after putting on his coat, but turned back just as he was about to step out the door. "Don't leave the bar, okay!"

"No matter who you see, don't make a sound, even if you see me. We don't know how many despicable things the mysterious man has. In short, no matter what happens, don't show yourself. Even if I fight the mysterious man at the door and I die there, you can't come out!"

“I know… If you really die, I’ll take Misha to your grave to see you. Maybe everyone will be happy that a bastard has died!” Hermione said angrily, knowing that Tom wouldn’t die.

Tom is so capable; he managed to escape unscathed even when he encountered a mysterious figure in the Forbidden Forest. How could he possibly die in a place like this?

Impossible, impossible.

……

With Christmas approaching, and especially since it was still afternoon—Hermione slept until the afternoon.

There are many adult wizards in Hogsmeade, and Tom targets those who are married or have children.

Tom had seen it in a magic book.

What is the best way to attract the opposite sex?

It's not about improving oneself, nor about having excellent modeling skills—Tom has excellent modeling skills, but I haven't seen many girls interested in him.

Getting back to the point, the best way to attract the opposite sex is to use the magic potion that Tom just brewed!

Let alone the opposite sex, even giants are no problem!

Same-sex trolls are fine too!

But Tom certainly wouldn't sell these things to those inherently evil dark wizards; what he was looking for was...

correct!

“Young man, you must have just gotten married.” Tom found a wizard in his early twenties with blond hair—which made him look like he had pure wizarding blood and shouldn’t be short of money.

He was wearing a ring on his ring finger, and his finger hadn't deformed yet, leading Tom to speculate that he must have recently gotten married.

The blond wizard paused for a moment before noticing a child looking at him pitifully.

"Yes, Merlin, bless me. I have a beautiful and gentle wife. She is very good to me and loves me very much. I love her very much too."

"Little one, is there something you need?"

Tom took out his potion: "I'm a Hogwarts student. Christmas is coming soon, and I want to buy some things for my girlfriend, but... well, it's just too hard for us to earn Galleons at our age."

Fortunately, I did very well in Potions class. Do you need this?

The blond wizard noticed the potion in Tom's hand and his expression changed: "Perhaps I should write a letter to Professor Snape and tell him how you could sell something like this!"

“I don’t object, sir, but instead of writing to him, perhaps you could go directly to Hogwarts and tell Professor Snape. However, I’m not a bad wizard; I just need the money, and I won’t sell these things to any malicious people.” Tom looked even more pitiful. “Could you buy these potions and then inform Professor Snape? I’m willing to be put in solitary confinement for it.”

The blond wizard stared coldly at Tom.

He had no idea what the kid was thinking.

If it were anyone else, they would have run away the moment they mentioned Professor Snape, but he didn't.

Moreover, his attitude was very sincere, and he certainly didn't seem like a bad wizard, nor like those in Slytherin...